Mum Fights Prosecution Over Term Time Holiday For Dying Son

The mum of a terminally ill boy has been threatened with prosecution if she takes him out of school during term time for what could be his last holiday.

Maxine Ingrouille-Kidd has been threatened with a fine of up to £120 if she takes her son Curtis out of school during term time.

Doctors have given Curtis, 13, who is a blind quadriplegic and has cerebral palsy, just a few years to live and warned he may only survive until his late teens.

Mum-of-three Maxine told The Sunday Times: "My son is 14 in October and this may well be his last holiday.

"He is never going to have a career, he is going to spend the rest of his life with us looking after him.

"I asked for a holiday request form and was absolutely flabbergasted and shocked when the response was 'no'."

Last September the former Education Minister Michael Gove introduced fines for parents in a crackdown to stop children being taken out of school in term-time.

Maxine, 56, and her husband Peter, from Wedmore, Somerset, had tried to book a cruise to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary in the October half-term holidays but a wheelchair-friendly cabin was not available.

They then tried to apply to take Curtis out of class but were refused and told they faced prosecution if they defied the order.

Maxine added: "It's the thought that I might be committing a crime that upsets me. I am a law-abiding citizen and this has been very stressful."

One of the couple's children posted the dilemma on Facebook and it received hundreds of messages of support.